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“The U.S. is the major culprit for all troubles since Feb 17,” Slobodan Samardzic told the state news agency Tanjug, referring to the date when Serbia’s Albanian-majority southern province declared independence.

“The root of violence is the violation of international law. The Serbian government will continue to call on the U.S. to take responsibility for violating international law and taking away a piece of territory from Serbia,” he said.

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Using “int’l law” as a lever appeals broadly in a world that judges the U.S. reborn under Bush-Cheney a rogue state.

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Also Friday, Russia — which has not recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty — said it has not ruled out using force to resolve the dispute over the territory if NATO forces breach the terms of their U.N. mandate.

“If the EU works out a single position or if NATO steps beyond its mandate in Kosovo, these organizations will be in conflict with the U.N., and then I think we will also begin operating under the assumption that in order to be respected, one needs to use force,” Moscow’s ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said, in comments carried by Russia’s Interfax news agency.

A spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that Kosovo’s declaration would have a “negative impact.”

“What happened in Belgrade yesterday is regrettable. But we would want to draw your attention to the fact that the forces that supported the unilateral recognition of Kosovo’s independence should have realized the effects of the move,” spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told Interfax.

Russia, which has close ties with Serbia, has refused to recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty, triggering a terse diplomatic standoff with the U.S. and several EU member states including the UK, France and Germany which have already recognized its independent status.

The U.S. Ambassador to NATO said Washington was “very disappointed” by Russia’s position on Kosovo, The Associated Press reported.

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/22/serbia.kosovo/?iref=hpmostpop